Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #3)(71)

“It is precisely because I am so long-lived that I think in such terms,” Iannis pointed out. “Ten years isn’t so long to wait. I often think in terms of decades, if not centuries.”

“This is just too much.” Agitated, I pushed to my feet and began pacing. “I don’t know how this could ever work. You and I are so ridiculously different.”

“You are half-mage yourself,” Iannis pointed out softly. Somehow he was in front of me, and he took my hands as I stopped short in front of him. “And though the world considers me a full-blooded mage, I am not.”

“Yeah, but the part of you that isn’t mage is even more ancient and alien.” I bit my lip as I looked into his face. The feel of his hands wrapped around mine sent a current of warmth through me, and I wanted so badly to soften. “Honestly, I don’t know why we’re having this conversation, Iannis. Unless you’re willing to break your rule about waiting ten years before you can touch me, this is never going to work.”

Iannis frowned. “We could get married,” he suggested. “The Mages Guild wouldn’t like it, but there wouldn’t be anything they could do about it.”

“Marriage?” I gasped, wondering just how much crazier this conversation was going to get. “You and I haven’t known each other that long, and marriage is an eternal commitment. Are you going to tell me that you love me and want to be with me forever and ever?”

“I believe I’ve proven on more than one occasion that I care for you,” Iannis said tightly, hurt flickering in the depths of his violet eyes.

I sighed, then reached up and touched his face. “I believe that, but caring for me isn’t the same as love.” I searched his gaze, wondering if I might see something in them that would convince me that emotion actually did exist in Iannis, but his eyes were shuttered now and I couldn’t read him. “Who’s to say that you and I won’t get sick of each other in a hundred years, and then what? We’re stuck together for life. I’m not going to give up my independence just so you won’t have to suffer embarrassment if someone catches us together.” I dropped my hand and turned away.

“I am not thinking merely of my embarrassment, Sunaya,” Iannis pointed out quietly. “Your safety would also be at stake if we became lovers and were found out.”

“I get that, but…” I raked a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to explain my feelings. “This might seem strange to you, but shifter relationships are very physical. I can’t marry someone that I’ve never made love to. I just can’t.”

“Are you saying that if I took you to bed that you’d marry me?” Interest lit Iannis’s eyes.

Another thrill rippled through me, and I ignored the little voice that shouted “Yes!” in my head. “Can’t make any promises, but we’d be moving in the right direction.” My body simmered with need just thinking about it, and I fought the urge to wet my freshly-painted lips with my tongue. I remembered all too well how his body looked and felt beneath those robes, and with all those years of experience behind him, I couldn’t help but think he would be a fantastic lover.

Iannis was silent for a long moment. “I will have to consider it,” he said finally.

“Alright.” I shrugged and turned back to the mirror, as if the decision he was pondering was no big deal. “But just remember, you’ve only got a week.”

“Perhaps.” He was suddenly behind me, and a thrill zipped through my nerves as his fingers slid beneath my chin and tilted my face upward. “But there are some things I can do in the meantime.”

He lowered his face to mine, and my breath hitched. “You’re going to get lipstick all over your face,” I warned breathlessly.

“I don’t care,” he murmured, and I closed my eyes as his warm breath fanned across my face. I tilted my head back, and our lips met, a whisper of skin on skin that electrified me. Heat exploded in my belly, and I longed to press my body against his, but I was sitting in the chair and facing the wrong way. Annoyed, I nipped at his lower lip, and he growled, then gripped my lower jaw and pushed his tongue past my lips. The dark, exotic taste of him filled my senses, and I moaned, gripping his forearm hard as I fought to bring him closer.

The next thing I knew, he’d scooped me up into his arms and was kissing me so hard that I could barely breathe from the intensity of it. My body was burning up as he pressed me down onto the mattress, my heart jackhammering so wildly against my chest I was sure he had to feel it. And through my lust-drenched brain, I wondered if we were actually going to do this now. Were we finally going to give in to the desire that had been pulling us together almost from day one?

Eventually Iannis lifted his head from mine, his violet eyes smoldering as he looked down at me. I reached up to trace the flush that had spread across his alabaster cheeks, and he pressed his hand against mine, holding it to his cheek. It was an incredibly tender moment, one that was completely at odds with the savage way he’d kissed me, and for a heart-stopping second I wondered if maybe he really could love me.

“You must understand,” he said quietly, his thumb stroking the back of my hand, “that after living as long as I have, it’s difficult for me to make hasty decisions. But,” he added, his voice growing husky again, “I’m beginning to think you’ll be more than worth it if we do decide to do this.”